The present disclosure relates generally to firearms. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a firearm magazine that can be used with more one style of firearm.
A magazine is used to hold and supply ammunition to a firearm. Some firearms have built in magazines that are not removable, but many firearms have a removable magazine that can be replaced by another magazine of the same style. Generally, magazines are not interchangeable between different designs, though some firearms are designed such that they may accept more than one magazine type.
Often, magazines hold too little ammunition for a users needs. This is especially true for firearms that are designed to accommodate rapid sustained discharge. To address this issue, high capacity magazines have been designed and manufactured. Some of these high capacity magazines, such as a high capacity box magazine, are simply extensions of a smaller magazine. By contrast, some high capacity magazines use more complex mechanisms such as those with gear and belt systems, rotary mechanisms, drum mechanisms, and other suitable mechanisms. Typically, high capacity magazines are designed to be used with one specific style of firearm.
There are generally two types of common cartridges that are used in small firearms, center fire and rim fire. The two types of cartridges differ in their physical dimensions. Center fire cartridges are generally cylindrical with a circular indentation around the base of the metallic case. By contrast, rim fire cartridges have a circular protrusion (rim) around the base. While center fire cartridges can be easily stacked in parallel within a magazine, rim fire cartridges cannot be stacked or piled upon each other in a magazine without some mechanism to compensate for the difference in diameter between the front and the back of the cartridge.
Some drum style magazines use a gear to hold and convey cartridges. Typically, the gear is molded in a single piece, with rounded recesses running diagonally around the outer edge of the gear, as seen in FIG. 9. Because of the diagonal recesses running around the edge, a mold for fabricating this style of gear is complex and requires many moving pieces. For example, when molding a gear of this style, the molded piece must be twisted with the contour of the diagonal recesses to prevent damage to the piece during removal. The molds are generally expensive and difficult to make and use.
The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of one or more of the issues set forth above.